Systems and methods for verification of identity and location

ABSTRACT

Techniques for ver ring identity and/or location of a customer. One embodiment involves receiving a customer-provided address from a customer in a communication via a computer network or telephone network. The customer is a person or entity paying to receive calls from a resident of a controlled access residential institution. The embodiment further involves accessing a computer system to identify location information associated with the customer, the location information derived from additional information within or about the communication and determining a reliability estimate of the customer-provided address by comparing the customer-provided address with the location information associated with the customer that was identified based on the additional information. The embodiment may involve notifying a telecommunications provider, the controlled access residential institution, or law enforcement based on the reliability estimate of the customer-provided address.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to provisional patentapplication No. 61/866,221, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORVERIFICATION OF IDENTITY AND LOCATION,” filed Aug. 15, 2013, the entirecontents of which is incorporated herein by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to confirming the identity and locationof customers receiving telephone calls from residents within acontrolled access residential institution.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the context of the operation of telecommunication systems which servecontrolled access residential institutions such as a correctionalfacility, many problems are traditionally observed relating to the abuseand/or inability to effectively capture the identity and location of thecalled, non-resident party. Typically, the task of determining theidentity and location of the called parties, or “customers,” falls uponthe telecommunications provider. The telecommunications provider mustrely upon the information provided from the customer during the initialaccount setup. Traditionally, telecommunications providers allowmultiple methods for a customer to setup an account, exasperating theproblem.

In one common example customers are allowed to setup an account bycalling an interactive voice response, or “IVR”, system maintained bythe telecommunications provider. By calling the IVR a customer isallowed to setup an account and to place funds on a prepaid account withthe use of a credit card or prepaid credit card. Once the account isfunded, the resident of the correctional institution may call thecustomer.

In another common example customers are allowed to setup an account byfunding their telephone number through a variety of third party paymentservices, such as Western Union or Money Gram. Typically, customers areonly required to provide the telephone number where they desire toreceive calls. The telephone number will either become the accountnumber or be linked to an account number with the telecommunicationprovider. Name and/or address are typically not required by third partypayment services.

Yet another common example would be to validate the address of acustomer through the billing address of the credit card used to fund theprepaid account. Typically, telecommunication providers will validatethe zip code and any other numeric address information if available onthe credit card being used to fund an account. In some instancescustomers will fund an account using a prepaid credit card which doesnot validate a customer's identity or location when setup. In otherinstances customers will use a credit card that has been provided by afamily member, loved one, or friend to help setup the account.

In another common example the customer will provide false information sothat their identity and location are kept secret from thetelecommunications provider, correctional institutions, and lawenforcement.

In another common example the customer will utilize a third partyservice so that their identity and location are masked from thetelecommunications provider and correctional institution. Typically,customers will setup an account with the third party service providerthat will provision the customer with a telephone number that thecustomer will then provide to the telecommunications provider and/orcorrectional institution. This telephone number may or may not be localto the correctional institution. When the resident within thecorrectional institution calls the number the third party serviceprovider will forward the number to the customer's real telephonenumber. In some examples the third party service will provide falsebilling information to the customer or offer to connect the customer tothe telecommunications provider customer service in which they are ableto setup the account. By connecting the customer with thetelecommunications provider customer service, the third party service isable to mask the true caller identity of the customer and pass the newlyprovisioned phone number to the telecommunications provider as thecaller identity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment involves receiving a customer-provided address from acustomer in a communication via a computer network or telephone network.The customer is a person or entity paying to receive calls from aresident of a controlled access residential institution. The embodimentfurther involves accessing a computer system to identify locationinformation associated with the customer, the location informationderived from additional information within or about the communicationand determining a reliability estimate of the customer-provided addressby comparing the customer-provided address with the location informationassociated with the customer that was identified based on the additionalinformation. The embodiment may involve notifying a telecommunicationsprovider, the controlled access residential institution, or lawenforcement based on the reliability estimate of the customer-providedaddress.

Verifying a customer's location may involve requesting supportingdocumentation based on a reliability estimate of the customer-providedaddress and restricting calls to the customer from the resident upon afailure to provide the supporting documentation.

A reliability estimate may also be used to determine that thecustomer-provided address should not be used for determining a rate tocharge the customer. An actual location of the customer may bedetermined that is different from the customer-provided address and therate to charge the customer may be based on the actual location. Thetelecommunications provider, the controlled access residentialinstitution, and/or law enforcement may be notified based on a failureby the customer to provide supporting documentation and/or based on arate adjustment being applied.

Verifying a customer's location can involve requesting and/or receivingadditional information from the customer including, but not limited to,customer-provided supporting identity documentation such an image of aphoto identification card or license comprising the location informationor an image of a postal correspondence comprising the locationinformation. An image may be electronic or something that reproduces anoriginal on paper or other physical medium and may take the form of afax, a scan, a copy of a document sent via postal mail, etc. Theadditional information may be a computer readout of a photoidentification card, license, or other customer item storing theadditional information. For example, the additional information may bedata retrieved from a magnetic strip or other storage mechanismassociated with a driver's license or credit card or informationretrieved from an RFID transponder on a personal item of the customer.The additional information may be an interact protocol addressassociated with the source of the communication, a telecommunicationprovider's call detail record, information provided by a third partybilling service or web-based geo-location service or an assisted globalpositioning system (aGPS) service. The additional information may be atelephone area code associated with the source of the communication oran area code and prefix (NPA/NXX) of an incoming caller identification.

Based on the results of attempting to verify a customer's location, acustomer account record may be updated with location information, callsto the customer from the resident may be restricted, and/or atelecommunications provider, the controlled access residentialinstitution, and/or law enforcement may be contacted.

A customer may be incentivized to provide location verificationinformation in various ways. For example, a subscription service optionmay be offered to a customer for a monthly fee during establishment of acustomer account for the customer that has funds for paying for thecustomer to receive calls from a resident of a controlled accessresidential institution. Based on the customer selecting thesubscription service option, the customer may have agreed to provideverifiable location information to allow additional location informationto be accessed, for example from a separate computer system or service,to verify the purported customer's location.

These embodiments and aspects of certain embodiments are provided tointroduce the subject matter of this patent. The claims define the scopeof the patent and should not be limited based on this summary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating functions performed by a Web-basedApplication for obtaining and verifying the identity and location of acustomer.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating functions performed by a customeraccount interface system to verify the identity and location of acustomer from a driver's license.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating functions performed by a customeraccount interface system to verify the location where a customer ismaking payments on account is consistent with the account location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one aspect of an illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, customer identification and location verification areaccomplished by an automated computer software system which isintegrated at multiple levels with the operation and provision ofcustomer accounts, billing services, databases contained within thetelecommunications provider and third party sources.

An automated software system providing one or more of the featuresdisclosed herein may be included in or added to a telecommunicationssystem in various ways, and may make use of various modules, some ofwhich are operated independently, and some of which advantageouslyintegrate with existing systems in order to obtain maximum efficiency,transparency and accountability. Components or modules providing one ormore of the features disclosed herein may be provided via one or morecomputers or other electronic devices located at an institutionalfacility, at a centralized and/or remote telephone network or computernetwork locations, located at any other location, or located at anycombination of such locations.

A customer account interface system is provided that enables customeridentity verification. The customer account interface system providesmethods and techniques which enable customers to access and interactwith the customer account interface system by way of various means,including, but not limited to, web-based browser applications, customsoftware applications designed for mobile telephone, tablet computer, orkiosk use, specifically formatted electronic mail or SMS messages, andinteractive voice response telephony systems. The devices may includeoptical scanners or cameras. In some embodiments, such devices includeor attach to scanners or cameras that are customized for scanning orimaging particular types of documents such as driver's licenses. In oneembodiment, a kiosk with a driver's license scanner is located at theinstitutional facility.

Further, the customer account interface provides a means for a customerto update their identity verification information. Identity verificationinformation, including, but not limited to, driver's license number,social security number, major credit card, student ID, and state issuedID.

The present invention provides a means to validate that an addressassociated with an account at the telecommunications provider is thesame as an address determined to be associated with a person setting upand/or using that account. For example, a person may set up an accountby providing false location for the account, e.g., stating that he livesin Chicago, and various techniques can be used to invalidate thataddress, e.g., identifying the he actually lives in Detroit. Suchverification can involve using identity information to obtaininformation about the person's actual residence address. Publicallyavailable and other sources may be used for such verification. Publicsources, include, but are not limited to, a credit bureau, bank,department of motor vehicles, third party verification services, andUSPS verification. In one example, the system requires that the personprovide personal identifying information such as social security number,full name, etc. and uses that information to search external sourcessuch as public records associated with that person to verify theperson's residence address. In another example, the system will comparethe credit card billing address, zip code, and name on an accountassociated with the credit card used to fund the account with theidentity information provided by the customer. In yet another example,the system will compare the driver's license number with data extractedfrom the state Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) or third partyverification services. If the customer account interface system fails tovalidate the identity of a customer, the customer will be notified thatthey will be unable to receive calls from the correctional institutionuntil such time as they are able to satisfy the identify/addressverification process. Additionally, the system will optionally notifythe telecommunications provider, correctional institution, and/or lawenforcement of the failed verification.

Verifying the accuracy of a location associated with an account withrespect to the location of the customer associated with an account canadditionally or alternatively involve the use of other customer provideddocuments and information. In one embodiment, the customer accountinterface system allows a customer to transmit a copy of identificationdocumentation through the means of a copy, scan, or picture. Suchdocumentation will generally have both address location andidentification information and, as examples may include driver'slicenses, green cards, passports, invoices, utility bills, and othercorrespondence, and picture IDs. In one example, in the event thecustomer account interface system is unable to verify the identity of acustomer with the customer supplied driver's license number, the systemmay require the customer to transmit an electronic copy of the driver'slicense. Once received the system will automatically verify the name,address, and driver's license number with the information provided bythe customer, any error identified will be automatically corrected andthe system will try to re-verify the customer's data. This processprovides for a dual form of verification, e.g. the telecommunicationsprovider is able to verify the customer supplied identification matchesphysical identification the customer has in possession and it allows forautomatic error detection of customer entered information. Ifverification continues to fail, the system will place the customeraccount into a customer service queue for manual verification.Additionally, the customer account interface provides for a variety oftransmission methods, including, but not limited to, SMS, customsoftware applications designed for mobile telephone or tablet computer,email, facsimile, postal mail, social media such as Facebook, Twitter,etcetera.

The customer account interface system may mark an account not verified,prevent the customer from receiving calls from the correctionalfacility, and optionally notify the telecommunications provider,correctional institution, and/or law enforcement until the customer's IDhas been received and/or verified through the system. Upon successfulreceipt and verification the customer account interface system willautomatically mark the account as verified and allow calls to becompleted to the customer from the correctional institution.

Still further, the present invention provides a means to validate theidentity information against the telecommunications providers billingdata from its vendor's call detail records. In one example, thetelecommunications provider may compare a call from their call detailrecord (CDR) to the billing CDR's provided from the terminatingtelecommunication's provider to ver i′ accuracy of location information.

In accordance with another aspect of illustrative embodiments of thecurrent invention, a system is provided which advantageouslyincorporates data elements from payment methods, including, but notlimited to, third party payment services such as Western Union and MoneyGram, telecommunications provider web site, and interactive voiceresponse systems.

Data elements, included, but not limited to, location where the customersubmitted the payment through a third party payment provider, IP addressof the customer's electronic device used to access thetelecommunications provider web site or third party payment provider,and caller ID of the phone used to access the IVR.

The present invention provides a means for the telecommunicationsprovider to process the data elements against publically availablesources for verification. Verification, includes, but is not limited to,comparing the location of the payment from third party payment serviceswith the account location supplied by the customer.

Further, the telecommunications provider may use web based geolocationapplication programming interfaces (APIs) or assisted GPS (aGPS)services to identify the customer's location while accessing thetelecommunication provider's web site, payment systems, or IVR. Forexample, a person may set up an account by providing false location forthe account, e.g., stating that he lives in Chicago, however, throughthe utilization of web-based geo location APIs, the system may determinethat the customer only accesses the telecommunication providers websiteand payment systems from a location in Seattle. Still further, thetelecommunications provider may use the NPA/NXX of the incoming callerID and compare its location with the telephone number and locationinformation provided on the customer account. Upon correlation of thisabstract data the telecommunications provider may elect to mark thecustomer account as a verification failure, block calls, and optionallynotify the telecommunications provider, correctional institution, and/orlaw enforcement until such time that the customer can re-verify theiridentity and location information.

In accordance with yet another aspect of illustrative embodiment of thecurrent invention, systems are provided which enable applicationsdesigned for mobile telephone or tablet computers to report locationinformation, including, but not limited to, GPS, tower triangulation,and IP geolocation services.

In accordance with yet another aspect of illustrative embodiment of thecurrent invention, the telecommunications provider may offer asubscription service to the customer. The customer will have the optionof selecting the subscription service during the account setup for anominal monthly fee. By selecting the subscription service, the customerwill be required to provide positive identification and locationinformation. Upon verification of identity information, the customer isoffered a reduced per minute rate to utilize the telecommunicationsprovider services.

Further, by maintaining the actual telephone number for the customer andby recording positive identification and location information thetelecommunications provider is able to ensure the integrity of theirdatabase, allowing for enhanced intelligence and security for thecorrectional institutions, law enforcement, and customers.

In accordance with yet another aspect of an illustrative embodiment ofthe current invention, if the telecommunications provider determinesthat the customer provided location is not consistent with location dataelements the telecommunications provider will allow calls to thecustomer at the rate consistent with the location data elements obtainedthrough these systems.

Further, upon making the determination that the location is notconsistent with the location data elements the telecommunicationsprovider will contact the customer through the use of an IVR system orlive customer service representative to obtain the correct locationinformation and/or inform the customer of the correct rates for theirtelephone calls received from the correctional facility. Additionally,the customer can be given information on how to close the account andrequest a refund from the telecommunications provider.

The telecommunications provider may elect to re-verify identity and/orlocation data at random intervals to ensure the data is accurate, in theevent that a re-verification fails the telecommunications provider mayelect to mark a customer account record as verification failure andblock calls or to bill calls using a rate appropriate for the locationwhere the calls are being received.

In any event of verification failure, whether it be the initialverification or random re-verification, the systems will optionallynotify the telecommunication provider, correctional institution, and/orlaw enforcement of the failure. Upon the system processing customerproviding documentation and the system successfully validating thecustomer's identity and location the system will automatically notifythe telecommunications provider, correctional institution, and/or lawenforcement of any updates and the successful verification. Notificationmay be provided by way of various means, including, but not limited to,through web-based browser applications, custom software applicationsdesigned for mobile telephone or tablet computer use, specificallyformatted electronic mail or SMS messages, and automated telephonysystems.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary process performed by Web-basedApplication for obtaining and verifying the identity and location of acustomer. Controls are provided to ensure verification of the account,using Personal Identification Numbers (PINS) and Security Questions.

The process begins at box 101 when a customer accesses a web site andenters the account number at box 102. At decision box 103 the account ischecked to see if valid identity and location information is on theaccount. Upon verification of valid identity and location information,the process continues to box 104 at which the customer is presented withtheir main account page. If valid identity and location information doesnot exist in telecommunications provider database, the customer ispresented with a form prompting the customer to provide information atbox 105.

The customer selects the identification they wish to provide and enterstheir information, at box 106 the information is validated againstpublic accessible third party services. At decision box 107, if theidentity and location information is successfully validated the systemmay optionally notify the telecommunications provider, correctionalinstitute, and/or law enforcement at box 108 and at box 109 the customeraccount is marked as verified and allowed to receive telephone calls. Ifthe identity and location information as entered by the customer failsto pass verification the customer account record is marked asverification failure and calls are blocked at box 110. The customer isallowed ‘X’ number of attempts to enter in valid identity and locationinformation at decision box 111, if the attempt threshold has not beenexceeded the customer is informed of verification failure at box 112 andredirected back to box 105 to supply valid information. If at decisionbox 111 the attempt threshold has been exceeded the system mayoptionally notify the telecommunications provider, correctionalinstitute, and/or law enforcement at box 113 and the customer ispresented with a page explaining the status and given thetelecommunications provider contact information. Additionally theaccount may be placed in a customer service queue for manualverification handling procedures at box 114.

FIG. 2 illustrates the process performed by the customer account systemfor verifying the identity and location of a customer by means of acustomer supplied driver's license. The process may be a sub process toprocess defined in FIG. 1 and may take place during the verification ofcustomer supplied data in box 106.

The customer selects to enter their driver's license information at box201. At box 202 the information is validated against public accessiblethird party services such as the department of motor vehicles and/orthird party verification services. At decision box 203, if the identityand location information is successfully validated optionally the systemwill notify the telecommunications provider, correctional institute,and/or law enforcement at box 204 and the customer account is marked asverified and is allowed to receive telephone calls at box 205. If theidentity and location information as entered by the customer fails topass verification, the customer is asked to confirm the data entered atbox 206. If the data is incorrect, the customer is given the opportunityto correct the data and is sent back to box 202 for verification. If thedata is correct as entered, the customer is informed of verificationfailure and is asked to provide supporting documentation at box 207.Supporting documentation may include but is not limited to a copy orimage of the customer's driver's license, utility bill, passport, and/orinvoice. Supporting documentation may be supplied to thetelecommunications provider through the process of uploading thedocumentation via a scanned copy, pdf, photograph, or by fax, email,postal mail, etcetera. At decision box 208, if the customer has failedto successfully upload a copy of their supporting documentation thesystem may optionally notify the telecommunications provider,correctional institute, and/or law enforcement at box 209 then marks theaccount record as verification failure and blocks calls at box 210. Ifthe customer successfully uploads a copy of their supportingdocumentation the system compares the data entered by the customer tothe data on the supporting documentation at box 211. If the data matchesat decision box 212 the customer account is placed in a customer servicequeue for manual verification handling procedures, the customer isinformed of the status and provided contact information, the customeraccount record is marked as verification failure, and calls are blockedat box 210. Alternatively, the telecommunications provider may elect tomark an account for manual verification but to allow calls provided thecustomer entered data and the customer supplied data match. If atdecision box 212 the data is inconsistent the system will automaticallyupdate the customer account record with the data from the supportingdocumentation at box 213 and send back for verification. At decision box214 if the customer account continues to fail verification the systemmay optionally notify the telecommunications provider, correctionalinstitute, and/or law enforcement at box 209, the account is placed in acustomer service queue for manual verification handling, the customer ispresented with the status and contact information, the account record ismarked as verification failure, and calls are blocked at box 210. If thecustomer account passes verification at decision box 214, the system mayoptionally notify the telecommunications provider, correctionalinstitute, and/or law enforcement at box 204 then the customer accountrecord is marked as verified and calls are allowed at box 205.

The previous process may be the substantially the same regardless of thesource of identity, e.g. driver's license, major credit card, socialsecurity card, photo ID, etcetera. At box 202 the criteria forsuccessful verification may change based on the source of identity. Inone example, the customer elects to provide a major credit card. Creditcard data may be accepted through the web site, payment web site, customapplication designed for a mobile phone or tablet computer, and on theIVR. Due to the complexities of capturing alpha characters via an IVRsystem the telecommunications provider may elect to only verify thenumerical value of the street address, full address information, zipcode, first and last name, last name, or any combination thereof.Additionally the website, payment web site, custom application designedfor a mobile phone or tablet computer, and IVR may use differentcombinations of information for verification. In another example,customer elects to provide their Social Security number. The system mayquery the credit bureaus to find the last known address, additionallythe system may verify the Social Security number matches the first andlast name of the customer, the Social Security number issue date iswithin a valid date range, the Social Security number is not listed asdeceased, etcetera.

In yet another example, customer elects to provider their driver'slicense number. The system may query the appropriate department of motorvehicles and/or third party verification systems to ensure the zip codesmatches the state and the last name matches the address provided by thecustomer.

FIG. 3 illustrates the functions performed by a customer accountinterface system to verify that the location where a customer is makingpayments on account is consistent with the account location.

At box 301 the telecommunication provider receives a payment on anaccount from a customer through a third party billing service or via thetelecommunication provider's website. The payment may be in any forme.g. Western Union, Money Gram, check, credit card, etcetera. At box 302the location, e.g., city and state, of where the payment is made iscompared against the location data on the account record with thetelecommunications provider. The payment location data may be extractedthrough various methods including data elements provided by a thirdparty payment service and web based geolocation or assisted GPS (aGPS)services utilized by the telecommunications provider. At box 303 if thecomparison is successful optionally the system will notify thetelecommunications provider, correctional institute, and/or lawenforcement at box 304 then the customer account is marked as paymentlocation verified at box 305. However, if at box 303 the comparison isunsuccessful the number of unsuccessful comparisons is evaluated at box306. In order to accommodate customers traveling, daily movements,etcetera, customers are allowed a threshold ‘X’ amount of unsuccessfulpayment address verifications prior to being placed in a customerservice queue for manual verification by the telecommunicationsprovider. If at box 306 the threshold has not been exceeded, thecustomer record will be marked as payment location is inconsistent withaccount location at box 307. However, if at box 306 the threshold hasbeen exceeded, the customer account will be placed in a customer servicequeue for verification and the account record will be marked thatpayment location is inconsistent with account location threshold hasbeen exceeded at box 308. At box 309 the account information is comparedwith payment information and other third party verifications services,additionally the telecommunications provider may contact the customer tovalidate location information. If the telecommunications provider isable to successfully compare location information at box 310 the systemmay optionally notify the telecommunications provider, correctionalfacility, and/or law enforcement at box 304 then the account record willbe marked as payment location verified at box 305. However if at box 310the telecommunications provider determines the actual customer locationis different from the account location, the system may optionally notifythe correctional institute and/or law enforcement at box 311 and theaccount will be updated with the new location and the telecommunicationsprovider will have the option to re-rate unbilled calls with the correctlocation where the calls are being received and all future calls at box312. Alternatively, the telecommunications provider may mark thecustomer account as verification failure and block calls until such timethe customer can re-verify their location information.

Any suitable computing system or group of computing systems can be usedto implement the processes disclosed herein. In one embodiment acomputer server is used to conduct and/or manage communications with acustomer. Such a server can include a processor that is communicativelycoupled to a memory and that executes computer executable program codeand/or accesses information stored in the memory. The processor maycomprise a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit(“ASIC”), a state machine, or other processing device. The processor caninclude any of a number of processing devices, including one. Such aprocessor can include or may be in communication with acomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to perform the operations describedherein.

The memory can include any suitable computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium can include any electronic, optical, magnetic,or other storage device capable of providing a processor withcomputer-readable instructions or other program code. Non-limitingexamples of a computer-readable medium include a magnetic disk, memorychip, ROM, RAM, an ASIC, a configured processor, optical storage,magnetic tape or other magnetic storage, or any other medium from whicha computer processor can read instructions. The instructions may includeprocessor-specific instructions generated by a compiler and/or aninterpreter from code written in any suitable computer-programminglanguage, including, for example, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, Java,Python, Perl, JavaScript, and ActionScript.

The server may also comprise a number of external or internal devicessuch as input or output devices. For example, the server may haveinput/output (“I/O”) interface that can receive input from input devicesor provide output to output devices. A bus can also be included in theserver. The bus can communicatively couple one or more components of theserver. The server can execute program code that configures theprocessor to perform one or more of the operations described above withrespect to FIGS. 1-3. The program code may be resident in the memory orany suitable computer-readable medium and may be executed by theprocessor or any other suitable processor. In additional or alternativeembodiments, program code can be resident in a memory that is accessiblevia a data network, such as a memory accessible to a cloud service.

The server can also include at least one network interface device. Thenetwork interface device can include any device or group of devicessuitable for establishing a wired or wireless data or telephoneconnection to one or more networks. Non-limiting examples of a networkinterface device include an Ethernet network adapter, a modem, and/orthe like. A server can transmit messages as electronic or opticalsignals via the network interface device.

A customer's device be a computer, telephone, mobile device, or anyanother communications device. A communications device can include aprocessor, memory, a bus, input/output components, network interfacecomponents, and other appropriate communication components. Non-limitingexamples of input devices include a touch screen (e.g., one or morecameras for imaging a touch area or pressure sensors for detectingpressure changes caused by a touch), a mouse, a keyboard, or any otherdevice that can be used to generate input events in response to physicalactions by a user of a computing device, or a microphone. Non-limitingexamples of output devices include an LCD screen, an external monitor, aspeaker, or any other device that can be used to display or otherwisepresent outputs generated by a computing device. The mobile device canexecute program code that configures the processor to perform one ormore of the operations described above with respect to FIGS. 1-3.

Numerous specific details are set forth herein to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled inthe art will understand that the claimed subject matter may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, methods,apparatuses, or systems that would be known by one of ordinary skillhave not been described in detail so as not to obscure claimed subjectmatter.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that throughoutthis specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” and “identifying” or the likerefer to actions or processes of a computing device, such as one or morecomputers or a similar electronic computing device or devices, thatmanipulate or transform data represented as physical electronic ormagnetic quantities within memories, registers, or other informationstorage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of thecomputing platform.

The system or systems discussed herein are not limited to any particularhardware architecture or configuration. A computing device can includeany suitable arrangement of components that provides a resultconditioned on one or more inputs. Suitable computing devices includemultipurpose microprocessor-based computer systems accessing storedsoftware that programs or configures the computing system from a generalpurpose computing apparatus to a specialized computing apparatusimplementing one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. Anysuitable programming, scripting, or other type of language orcombinations of languages may be used to implement the teachingscontained herein in software to be used in programming or configuring acomputing device.

Embodiments of the methods disclosed herein may be performed in theoperation of such computing devices. The order of the blocks presentedin the examples above can be varied—for example, blocks can bere-ordered, combined, and/or broken into sub-blocks. Certain blocks orprocesses can be performed in parallel.

The use of “adapted to” or “configured to” herein is meant as open andinclusive language that does not foreclose devices adapted to orconfigured to perform additional tasks or steps. Additionally, the useof “based on” is meant to be open and inclusive, in that a process,step, calculation, or other action “based on” one or more recitedconditions or values may, in practice, be based on additional conditionsor values beyond those recited. Headings, lists, and numbering includedherein are for ease of explanation only and are not meant to belimiting.

The foregoing description and summary of the invention are to beunderstood as being in every respect illustrative and exemplary, but notrestrictive, and the scope of the invention disclosed herein is not tobe determined only from the detailed description of illustrativeembodiments but according to the full breadth permitted by the patentlaws. It is to be understood that the embodiments shown and describedherein are only illustrative of the principles of the present inventionand that various modification may be implemented by those skilled in theart without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A method comprising: performing by a computingdevice: receiving a customer-provided address from a customer in acommunication via a computer network or telephone network, the customerpaying to receive calls from a resident of a controlled accessresidential institution; accessing a computer system to identifylocation information associated with the customer, the locationinformation derived from additional information within or about thecommunication; determining a reliability estimate of thecustomer-provided address by comparing the customer-provided addresswith the location information associated with the customer that wasidentified based on the additional information; based on the reliabilityestimate of the customer-provided address, determining that thecustomer-provided address should not be used for determining a rate tocharge the customer; determining an actual location of the customerbased on the location information, wherein the actual location isdifferent from the customer-provided address; and determining the rateto charge the customer based on the actual location.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the performing further comprises notifying atelecommunications provider, the controlled access residentialinstitution, or law enforcement based on the reliability estimate of thecustomer-provided address.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theperforming further comprises: requesting supporting documentation basedon the reliability estimate of the customer-provided address; andrestricting calls to the customer from the resident upon a failure toprovide the supporting documentation.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe performing further comprises notifying a telecommunicationsprovider, the controlled access residential institution, or lawenforcement of the failure to provide supporting documentation.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the performing further comprises notifying atelecommunications provider, the controlled access residentialinstitution, or law enforcement of the actual location of the customer.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional information comprisescustomer-provided supporting identity documentation provided in thecommunication.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the additionalinformation comprises: an image of a photo identification card orlicense comprising the location information; an image of a postalcorrespondence comprising the location information; or a computerreadout of a photo identification card, license, or other customer itemstoring the additional information.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe additional information comprises an internet protocol addressassociated with the source of the communication.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the additional information comprises a telecommunicationprovider's call detail record.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theadditional information is provided by a third party billing service. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the additional information is provided bya web based geo-location service or an assisted global positioningsystem (aGPS) service.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the additionalinformation comprises a telephone area code associated with the sourceof the communication.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the additionalinformation comprises an area code and prefix (NPA/NXX) of an incomingcaller identification.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the performingfurther comprises automatically updating a customer account record withlocation information derived from the additional information, whereinthe updating is based on the reliability estimate of thecustomer-provided address information.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the performing further comprises restricting calls to thecustomer from the resident.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein theperforming further comprises notifying a telecommunications provider,the controlled access residential institution, or law enforcement of theupdating of the customer account record.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein the customer provided address is inputted into a computerinterface.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer providedaddress is spoken to a telephone operator during the communication. 19.The method of claim 1, wherein the customer provided address is spokento an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system during the communications.